Food Service Scheduler
Case Study · Volunteer Food Service

From group texts and spreadsheets to one connected schedule

Food Service Scheduler coordinates every meal shift across multiple sites — who's serving, what's on the menu, what supplies are needed, and who's confirmed — with reminders that send themselves.

12
Modules
3
Automations
15+ hrs
Saved weekly
100%
Shifts acknowledged
foodservice.app / Dashboard
This Week
7
Congregations
8
Missing Menus
3
Low Inventory
4
This Week's Assignments
Tue, Sep 8 · Lunch · 11:30 AM
Maple Grove
Approved
Wed, Sep 9 · Lunch · 11:30 AM
Cedar Park
Submitted
Wed, Sep 9 · Lunch · 11:30 AM
Lakeside
Approved
Thu, Sep 10 · Lunch · 11:30 AM
Hillcrest
Needs Changes
Fri, Sep 11 · Snacks · 2:30 PM
Willow Creek
Approved
The Core Idea

Every shift flows to a confirmed, supplied, reminded group — automatically

The biggest cost in coordinating meals isn't cooking — it's the coordinator re-typing schedules, chasing menus and calling to confirm. This replaces all of it.

Create shiftsAuto-assign groupsMenu submittedAssignment emailedGroup acknowledgesAuto remindersSupplies delivered
Scheduling

One calendar for every site and every group

Shifts for multiple locations live on a single color-coded calendar. The auto-assign engine rotates congregations fairly while respecting meeting days, blackout dates and who served last.

  • Month, week and printable list views
  • Auto-assign a whole month in one click
  • Day view shows menu, supplies, contacts and status together
Saves 15+ hours a month of manual scheduling
foodservice.app / Calendar
September 2026
MonthWeekList
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
1
Hillcrest
2
Oak Ridge
Hillcrest
3
Cedar Park
4
Willow Creek
5
Riverbend
Willow Creek
6
7
8
Maple Grove
9
Hillcrest
Maple Grove
10
Oak Ridge
11
Cedar Park
12
Willow Creek
Cedar Park
13
14
15
Sunset Valley
16
Maple Grove
Sunset Valley
17
Hillcrest
18
Oak Ridge
19
Cedar Park
Oak Ridge
20
21
22
Lakeside
23
Sunset Valley
Lakeside
24
Maple Grove
25
Hillcrest
26
Oak Ridge
Hillcrest
27
28
29
Riverbend
30
Lakeside
Riverbend
Group Portal

Each group sees only their assignments — and confirms them

Contacts log in to a simple portal: upcoming shifts, the approved menu, what to bring and where to park. One tap acknowledges the assignment, and any change requests, so you always know who has seen what.

  • Menu submission and change proposals from the portal
  • Portal release date controls how far ahead groups can see
  • Acknowledgment logged with name and timestamp
Ends the 'I never got the message' phone calls
foodservice.app / My Assignments
My Assignments
Maple Grove
Tue, Sep 8 · Lunch
Acknowledged
Arrive 9:00 AM North Campus
Main
Chicken Enchiladas
Sides
Rice, beans, salad
Serving
~54 people
Bring
Coolers, serving spoons
Thu, Sep 24 · Lunch
Riverside · Menu not submitted
Submit Menu
Notifications

Reminders that send themselves

Assignment emails go out in one click or in bulk. Automatic reminders reach contacts 7, 2 and 1 days before a shift — bilingual, with the menu, supplies and a map link — and every send is logged on the shift.

  • Bulk send assignments for any date range
  • Change-request emails with item photos
  • Calendar invites attached to volunteer shift emails
Eliminates 20+ hours of email follow-up monthly
foodservice.app / Notifications
Automatic Reminders — contacts are emailed 7, 2 and 1 days before each shift.
Tue, Sep 8 · Lunch in 5 days
Maple Grove
Assignment sent Aug 27 · Reminder sent Sep 1
Send
Wed, Sep 9 · Lunch in 6 days
Cedar Park
Assignment sent Aug 28
Send
Thu, Sep 10 · Lunch in 7 days
Hillcrest
Auto-reminder scheduled today
Send
Inventory

Know what's on the shelf before the shift starts

Track coffee, supplies and drinks with minimum thresholds. Field crews submit counts from a public form; admins accept them item by item. Supply requests attach to specific shifts and count as upcoming inventory until confirmed delivered.

  • Low-stock alerts on the dashboard
  • Public count form — no login needed
  • Usage reports by location and month
Prevents emergency supply runs every week
foodservice.app / Inventory
AllCoffeeSuppliesDrinksMisc
ItemOn handMinStatusUpcoming
Coffee (ground)
Coffee
6 lbs10Low+5 arriving Sep 8
Bottled Water
Drinks
3 cases6Low+4 arriving Sep 8
Napkins
Supplies
5 packs8Low+6 arriving Sep 9
Paper Plates
Supplies
22 packs10Good
Hot Cups (12 oz)
Supplies
14 sleeves6Good
Propane
Misc
2 tanks2Good
Volunteers

Food and barista shifts, filled automatically

Keep a roster of volunteers with their group, skills and unavailable dates. Auto-fill picks the next available people for each Saturday shift, and one click emails everyone a calendar invite.

  • Barista vs. food shift types
  • Blackout dates per volunteer
  • Filled/needed at a glance on every shift
Automates 80% of volunteer coordination
foodservice.app / Volunteer Shifts
Sat, Sep 5 · Saturday Breakfast
3/3 filled
7:00 – 10:00 AM
Elena CastilloJoy AdebayoSofia Marin
Sat, Sep 5 · Coffee Bar
2/2 filled
6:30 – 9:30 AM
Mark PetersonIsaac Cohen
Sat, Sep 12 · Saturday Breakfast
2/3 filled
7:00 – 10:00 AM
Caleb TurnerHannah Brooks+ Auto-fill
Capabilities

Every part of food service, covered

Calendar & Day View

Month, week and list views with every site color-coded by congregation. Click any day to manage its shifts.

Calendar
March 2026‹ ›
SMTWTFS
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
Congregations

Contacts, colors, meeting days and blackout dates — the scheduler never assigns a group when it can't serve.

Congregations
4 groups+ Add
RiversideWed
OakwoodWed
HillcrestWed
LakeviewWed
Multiple Locations

Run several sites at once. Addresses flow into emails with a one-tap map link.

Locations
Main Site412 Elm St
North Yard88 Pine Rd
Annex5 Oak Ave
Menu Options Library

Groups submit their menus once, reuse them across shifts, and repeated dishes are flagged automatically.

Menu Options
Baked ChickenRice · Green beansBrownies
Chili & CornbreadUsed 2×
Acknowledgments

Every assignment and change request is confirmed by the group, with who and when recorded.

Acknowledgments
Mar 4 · LunchAcked
Mar 7 · DinnerAcked
Mar 11 · LunchPending
Notifications

Assignment emails, manual reminders and automatic 7 / 2 / 1-day reminders — bilingual, with logs.

Notifications
RiversideSent
OakwoodSent
HillcrestDue 2d
Volunteers & Baristas

A volunteer roster with availability, auto-fill for Saturday shifts and calendar invites by email.

Volunteers
Sat · Barista2/2
Sun · Coffee1/2
Wed · Lunch3/3
Inventory & Deliveries

Thresholds, low-stock alerts, field counts from a public form, and requests tied to specific shifts.

Inventory
Coffee24 lbs
Cups3 boxes
Napkins9 packs
Creamer5 qt
Important Info

Pinned posts, images and files that every group sees on their portal.

Important Info
📌 Kitchen AccessDoor code changes Monday. Park in the north lot.
Serving Guidelines2 files · 1 photo
Public Calendar & QR

A read-only schedule anyone can open by scanning a code — no login needed.

Public Calendar
Scan to view
No login needed
Export & Print

PDF schedules, menu summaries, item checklists and inventory usage reports.

Export Center
Schedule PDF
Menu Summary
Item Checklist
Roles & Portal Release

Admins, viewers and group contacts each see exactly what they need, released on your timeline.

Users & Roles
a.miller@…Admin
j.reed@…Viewer
c.lopez@…Group

Try it with real sample data

The demo is fully interactive — add shifts, approve menus, send test reminders and update inventory.

Everything resets to fresh demo data every 7 days.

Open the demo
Food Service Scheduler · A scheduling platform for volunteer meal programs